


kickstart my heart

by orphan_account



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: 80s AU, Alternate Universe, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Eating Disorders, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Humor, Internalized Homophobia, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi-Era, Retrospective, Slice of Life, Smut, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:35:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25044007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Wherein Jae spends his whole life chasing ghosts, looking for something he could never find, but it was, right in front of him the whole time, and up on stage with him every night.A retelling of the formation of DAY6 in an alternate universe (basically 1980s America), in the style of film manuscript.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Original Character(s), Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Jaehyung | Jae, Park Sungjin/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for taking the time to read my story! i hope you will enjoy it.
> 
> disclaimers before you proceed reading:
> 
> the format of this fic is a bit different than most, as it will be in the form of a movie script rather than a novel. i have never tried this before although i've been really wanting to for quite some time. so if that type of read isn't your cup of tea, i understand, but hope you will stay otherwise and try this out with me! :D
> 
> this story will contain a lot of topics some may find triggering or disturbing, so please be aware of that before you continue. i will put trigger warnings on the chapters that particularly contain things that may be unsettling. also, this is set in an alternate universe, so inaccuracies regarding the way day6 formed or came together as a band...well it's on purpose lol.
> 
> this is heavily inspired by the movie "the dirt" which follows the career of one my favorite bands, motley crue. dedication to them and my boys of day6. :)

**EPIGRAPH**

_I’ve spent my whole life chasing ghosts._

_Perhaps, the ghosts were chasing me, but I was just to blind to see them. I knew they were out there somewhere, hiding, teasing me with their hollow beings and powerful realms. Perhaps, I shouldn’t have been running backwards. Maybe I should have enjoyed the journey more. Maybe I should have forgotten the ghosts._

_I guess I can say I’m glad that I ran after them alongside people I would easily call my best friends. In a way, our encounters among one another could be thanks to the spirits I so fervently followed. They seemed to guide me along the way, along with my friends. My companions._

_The story wasn’t anything star-studded and beautiful. We did things we regret, we hurt each other, we loved each other, we thrived. Each of us had our own demons. But we fought them together._

_I spent my whole life chasing ghosts, looking for something I could never find. And here it was, right in front of me the whole time, and up on stage with me every night._

**PLAYLIST**

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjNKks_LhpdAUNcIXcCY95h61D_CEGPw4

kickstart my heart / motley crue  
18 and life / skid row  
dying in a hot tub / palaye royale  
sing / my chemical romance  
jet black heart / 5 seconds of summer  
time of our life / day6  
don't stop me now / queen  
here's to never growing up / avril lavigne  
castle on the hill / ed sheeren  
see your face / amber riley  
  



	2. scene two

FADE IN: EXT. JAE'S FAMILY HOME - CHRISTMAS 1998

  
It's light and snowy outside. Fairy lights line the wooden fence of the home of JAE and his parents. Their home is dainty, yet bigger when compared to those around the area. A Christmas tree is visible from the living room window.

  
JAE sits on the floor by the tree as his parents sip on their mugs of coffee. JAE tears away at the gifts under the tree, his sister doing the same.

  
JAE'S MOTHER  
Are you ready for the big kahuna, kids?  
JAE  
(bouncing up and down on his knees)  
Yes, yes, yes! 

  
JAE's glasses fall onto the floor as he excitedly hops around his sister. The boy's father sets his mug back on the table in front of him. JAE'S MOTHER walks back into the living room with a package about as tall almost as tall as JAE. She holds another large gift bag in her other hand, setting it down in front of JAE'S SISTER.

  
JAE'S FATHER  
Need help opening that thing?  
JAE  
No. I'm a strong dude, I can do it!  
JAE'S SISTER  
(rolls her eyes and takes the package from JAE)  
Come on, you're as scrawny as they come.  
JAE'S FATHER  
Hey. Knock it off.

  
JAE'S FATHER manages to open up the package. Inside is a guitar case, which he hands over to JAE.

  
JAE  
(eyes widened and jaw dropped, lips in an o-shape)  
Is it...

  
JAE'S FATHER and JAE'S MOTHER exchange glances as JAE unzips the case. The black and white Stratocaster is revealed as the case fully opens. JAE'S SISTER pauses opening her own gift as she focuses on JAE.

  
JAE (CONT'D)  
Wow.  
JAE (V.O.)  
And that was the day that changed everything.

  
CUT to a slightly older JAE playing guitar in a high school band room. His hair is visibly longer. His playing isn't necessarily top-notch, he struggles to pick the right strings, and he isn't even plugged into an amp. He frustratingly throws the pick onto the floor.

  
JAE (V.O.) (CONT'D)  
It didn't necessarily come easy. We couldn't really afford for me to take lessons since my sister was off in college. But, that didn't stop me.

  
CUT to JAE playing onstage with a band in a small and dim venue.

  
JAE (V.O.) (CONT'D)  
Music was really the only thing that didn't leave me. Throughout my late teens, I went through different bands like a weed wacker. Playing whatever terrible songs or covers I had to in order to keep the lights on and the water running. 

  
JAE tunes his guitar as the lead singer, WOOSUNG, introduces himself and the band. The crowd is rather small. They all are spread about the venue rather evenly, with the exception of a few girls who stick together close towards the stage.

  
WOOSUNG  
Hello, everyone! Thanks for coming out tonight. We're Windfall, hope you enjoy the show!  
WOOSUNG starts strumming his guitar, JAE following along.   
JAE (V.O.)  
I only played with Windfall for a couple of months. The lead singer was nice and all, but their music just wasn't my style. But then again, every band I had played with wasn't my style. It wasn't even my own music.  
(JAE looks up at the crowd, disappointed as he sees none of them watching him)  
Everything felt pointless. Stagnant. Until I came across the best thing to ever happen to me.

  
CUT to the inside of a dainty, dimly-lit family diner. JAE sits alone and sips on a glass of coke. He flips through a newspaper absentmindedly.   
ENTER SUNGJIN, a stocky bus boy at the diner. He walks past JAE, only glancing over at him momentarily, until he realizes he recognizes JAE.

  
SUNGJIN  
(turning around and stopping in front of JAE)  
You're from Windfall?  
JAE  
(looking up at SUNGJIN)  
Yeah - yeah, I'm in Windfall. As of right now, anyway.  
(JAE looks back down at the newspaper)

  
SUNGJIN sits down across from JAE, setting his tub of dishes on the floor next to the table, and watches as JAE circles a small ad in the newspaper with a red pen.

  
SUNGJIN  
(peering over at the paper)  
That guy looks pretty cool, huh?  
JAE  
(looking up at SUNGJIN, then back down)  
Yeah. I need a group that's gonna stick, ya know? Something no one has ever seen before. Enough of this slow rock stuff. We need something new.  
SUNGJIN  
You done with Windfall?  
JAE  
Yeah, Jesus. Music's way too vanilla for me.  
(takes a sip from his drink before chuckling)  
Told the singer I'm done. I probably should have thought things through, that band was my only source of income.  
SUNGJIN  
Damn, sorry about that. I thought you guys sounded pretty good together.  
JAE  
Gee, thanks. But sounding good isn't gonna keep the water on for the next two months.  
SUNGJIN  
(looking at JAE, then down at his own lap)  
Sorry, man. I didn’t realize—  
JAE  
It’s alright. It’s always been like this.  
(folding up the newspaper)  
I better get going. Was nice meeting you.  
SUNGJIN  
Hey, here. Take my number, I work here too so you can find me here. Let's jam sometime, alright?  
JAE begins to stand up and leave the booth, stopping at SUNGJIN's suggestion. SUNGJIN stands up before JAE.  
JAE  
You play?  
SUNGJIN  
Drums. A little guitar, too.  
JAE  
(giving SUNGJIN a rather suspicious glare)  
Huh.  
(pats SUNGJIN on the shoulder before walking out of the diner, leaving him to his thoughts)


End file.
